This invention relates generally to fish hooks and more specifically to a uniquely shaped barbless fish hook having particular utility in fly fishing.
The fish hook has been used at least since the Paleolithic age and is thus one of the oldest known implements. The earliest form was not actually a hook as such but was instead a device known as a gorge formed by a straight shaft having pointed opposite ends and a central groove for attaching the line. The gorge was made from stone, shells, antlers or bones and was used until the beginning of the Neolithic age when the first curved fish hooks appeared.
The earliest versions of the curved fish hook were made from bone. Copper fish hooks came later and bronze hooks still later during the Bronze Age. The bronze hooks that were made during this period were shaped much like modern fish hooks and included barbs near the point and eyes for attaching the fishing line. Since the Iron Age, fish hooks have usually been made from iron and steel. Modern fish hooks are made at least in part by automatic machinery and they are usually made from carbon steel, although stainless steel is also used, particularly for hooks that are to be used in waters where corrosion is a serious problem.
Throughout the long history of fish hooks, a wide variety of sizes, shapes and materials have been proposed. The typical modern hook has a shank which may be straight or curved, a ring or eye on one end of the shank for securing the fishing line, a curved bend on the other end of the shank, a sharp point on the free end, and a barb which maintains the hook lodged in the mouth of the fish. All parts of the fish hook can have various sizes and shapes, and the throat depth and gap dimension also vary rather widely. At present, fish hooks are universally made from wire which is usually round but is sometimes forged or shaped in a knife edge configuration.
Barbless hooks have recently been used with increasing frequency, often pursuant to rules which mandate their use in certain geographical areas or when fishing for certain species of fish. Even when there are no rules requiring their use, barbless hooks have advantages over barbed hooks in many respects. Many fly fishermen, when practicing "catch and release" trout fishing, are generally opposed to barbed hooks believing that they permanently damage and/or eventually kill the trout after release. The barb can also cause significant damage when the hook inadvertently becomes embedded in the hand or another part of the human body. Furthermore, since flies are "tied" to a hook, the need for a barb to hold the bait on the hook is obviated.
Articles of interest and which generally appeared in FLY FISHERMAN magazine (FFM) and are: "Understanding Hooks", Vol. 13, #2 by Craig Woods, pp. 40-42; "Barbless Hooks", Vol. 4, #2 by Charles Ritz, pp. 30-31; and "Barbless Hooks", by Matt Vinceguerra, Vol. 3, #3.
Despite these advantages, widespread acceptance of the barbless hook has been lacking, primarily because of the shortcomings in the barbless hooks that have been available. Plain pointed hooks, which are essentially conventional hooks without a barb, are less than satisfactory because they can be dislodged too easily from the mouth of the fish and can thus result in fish escaping before they can be landed. Barbless hooks referred to as humped hooks have projecting humps which impede the hook in penetrating the fish and can also cause mutilation as bad as the damage caused by barbs. Barbless hooks as well as conventional barbed hooks often tear through the tissue of the fish. Due to its relatively small diameter, the wire which forms the fish hook offers little resistance to being torn through the tissue and tends to pull through the tissue by slicing action when subjected to large forces. More likely than not, the damaged fish escapes with significantly shorter life expectancy.